FCC gives "N5RCA" to Rusk County Club

It became official today! When the FCC updated its database this afternoon, N5RCA was officially given to the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club as the club's call sign.

The call sign was the first in a series of choices submitted to the FCC in late June after the club received a sequential call from the agency.

The new call sign may be used by the club and is overseen by the station's trustee and club president, Keith Ballow.

Moving traffic across the airwaves

Jo Ann Keith, KA5AZK, is serious when it comes to traffic.

"I really love this stuff," she told the members of the RCARC during the club meeting in June. Jo Ann, with the help of  her husband, John, told the club about the national message handling system and how amateurs can send messages from one end of the country to another.

"It might seem obsolete," admitted Jo Ann, "but there is still a need," she said. Jo Ann noted that during the two largest Gulf Coast hurricanes in recent years, hams were the only ones able to get health and welfare messages out of the region.

Jo Ann said that during an emergency, not knowing how to effectively pass messages or participate in a traffic net, "can make a hectic situation even worse." She noted that it is much better to learn how to do it before it becomes necessary

Jo Ann, who lives in the Gilmer area, manages the 7290 Traffic Net which meets twice a day Monday through Friday (10am and 1pm) and once on Saturday mornings (10am).

She gave every member a complete packet of information complete with an ARRL Radiogram form, tip sheets and full instructions on how to originate, send and receive traffic. More information is avialable at www.7290trafficnet.org.

Field Day 2014 is in the log!

Field Day was finally here and the bands were hopping! Several local amateurs and visitors dropped by the Rusk County EOC to check out all the Field Day operations.

Craig Roquemore and his son Chris worked together to log the 100th station during the special event. The club used the call sign K5R during Field Day.

The club operated as a 2F station, with two transmitters on the air at the same time. Members put up two inverted "V" antennas as well as an end-fed long wire and 2m vertical antenna.

The club used N1MM logger and several mesh nodes to link logging computers together. the EOC has a nice "smart board" which allowed the group to monitor the log and current statistics live on the wall during the event. Thanks to Bob Tomlinson for the use of his FT-1000 which provided a great voice signal on HF.

Full photo album of RCARC's Field Day Station.

Going digital is easier than you think!

by KN5G - Enjoying a little JT65 on 6 Meters this morning. Once you have your computer and rig interfaced for digital modes they all work pretty easily just by switching software. JT65, BPSK, RTTY, they all use the same interface between the computer and transceiver.

I understand from talking to the HRD folks at HAM-COM, that the latest version of Ham Radio Deluxe being released right about now will support the JT65 mode along with all the others that it already supports.

The new versions of HRD cost around $100, but it is a super program if you are considering interfacing your computer to your HF rig. The older FREE version of HRD is still out there if you want to give that a try before dropping $100 on the new version.

The screen-shots here are from the WSJT-X program, which is a free download.

Rusk County's New and Upgraded Hams!

Congratulations to a group of new and upgraded hams in Rusk County! Bob Tomlinson upgraded to Extra, Micheal Searcy upgraded to General and Peyton Chenault (a brand new ham!) got a Technician license. All three hams took their tests during the RCARC's first ever test session in Henderson. A generous group of Volunteer Examiners from Cherokee County made the session possible. New testing sessions are already being planned and will be announced here on the website.

Craig Roquemore and David Chenault also recently upgraded to Extra at the recent HamCom hamfest in Plano.

County and City declare Radio Week!

Both Rusk County and the City of Henderson have declared the week of June 23-29, 2014, Amateur Radio Week. The declarations come as the the RCARC prepares to host its first-ever test session on Thursday, June 26th and Field Day that weekend.

During their regular commissioners' court meeting on Monday (June 9th), Rusk County Judge Joel Hale thanked several members of the RCARC for their readiness to provide public service radio communications. The county's commissioners then unanimously approved the declaration.

The next evening, during the Henderson City Council's meeting, Mayor Pat Brack made a similar declaration and thanked the club for its assistance with storm spotting and other emergency communication assistance.

Preparing for Field Day 2014

Field Days is fours weeks away and it is time to think about specifics!

The club asked, and received permission to hold Field Day 2014 at the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) which serves as the county's Emergency Operations Center or "EOC". There is a special provision in the ARRL Field Day rules that allow for EOC operations and would classify our station as an "F" station. Once nice benefit is we can use normal power mains and even has air conditioning! (Can I get a big "yeah!"?)

 Going over the rules again here are some thoughts:

The first thought is deciding on how many transmitters we need. Field Day rules classify all participating groups by the number of radios they have transmitting simultaneously at any time during the event AND the type of operation (low power, off the grid, individual at home, at an

Calling CQ CQ CQ de KG5CGV!

Who is that on the air? It's the RCARC with its brand new club call sign! The FCC officially assigned KG5CGV to the club earlier this week and it now appears in the FCC database. 

But don't get too friendly with it yet. The club decided several months back to apply for a vanity callsign that would be shorter and more significant than a sequentially generated callsign. However, you have to have the regular call before you can apply for a vanity, so this is only the first step. Still, it calls for a celebration!

Here's a link to the page on the FCC's website so you can see it for yourself: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=3599066

Catching DX with "Regular-Guy" Station

By W5CWT - I've really come to enjoy JT65 and the slooooow QSOs it allows. I'm able to work some great DX with a very modest station (at only 20 watts!) while doing other work on my computer. NICE! I recorded a quick video of a recent QSO with an Italian station to give you a feel for it.

Take it to Ground! Protecting your gear

Tom Wilbeck speaks on grounds

(VIDEO) Tom Wilbeck, N5KGN, from Longview, spoke about the importance of having a good grounding system during the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club's monthly meeting Thursday evening.

Tom, who spent his career working with in the electronics and telephone industry, said his motivation for building a safe system came quite suddenly, in less than 4 milliseconds to be exact.

"The entire room lit up with a green glow. And although I had my eyes closed, it was so bright, I could see it through my eyelids." It happened just over 20 years ago, Tom explain. He was in bed when his amateur radio tower took a direct hit from lightening. The strike took out his computer and several items in his radio shack, and while he says he didn't loose his main HF rig, he did gain a healthy respect for proper grounding techniques.